HOG's
by AshandMay17
Summary: War has broken out between all the regions and Ash Ketchum is caught in the middle. After enlisting in the military he is quickly shipped out into the field where he witnesses first hand the brutality of war. Advanceshipping.
1. Prologue

Prologue-

In the winter of 2014 war broke out between all the Pokémon regions. In the previous years the Hoenn region had focused on building up its armed forces by shifting most of its industry to the production of war materials, tanks, bombs, jets, mines, ships, anything.

They conducted frequent military drills all throughout the region, sharpening their skills. In a year they doubled the size of their military to roughly one million men.

The Prime minister of the Hoenn region Levente Leon assured the world that there new military power was for defense purposes only, and that they had no intention of antagonizing any other sovereign region.

The other regions convinced themselves that the Hoenn region did not pose a direct threat to their security, besides; they had more pressing matters within their own regions.

Economic turmoil threatened most regions, stocks had plummeted due to over speculation and as a result, many citizens became unemployed and suffered in poverty. But the Hoenn region with its booming war industry was not burdened by these problems that other nations had to endure.

In 2010 the Hoenn region decided to test out its new military muscle and conducted an invasion of the Orange Islands.

Within a matter of weeks the islands fell, and the rest of the world watched in silence. Having tested the waters, the Hoenn region saw that the other regions were hesitant to react and took this as a sign of weakness.

Seeing an opportunity to expand its territory and inherit more resources from neighboring regions, the Prime minster of the Hoenn region made the decision to take more land.

The next year the Hoenn region expanded its empire even further and mobilized its military against the weakened Kalos region. The Hoenn army, now having combat experience, was easily able to storm through the region.

Upon reaching the capital city of Lumoise the Hoenn commanders allowed their soldiers to run freely. They murdered innocent children, raped innocent woman, and used the men for bayonet practice. The soldiers would then take the bodies of whoever they killed, and dump them on the side of the streets; this would later be known as the Lumiose Massacre.

Unable to stand by any longer, the Johto and Unova regions allied with each other and declared war on the Hoenn region. Having close ties to the Hoenn region, the Sinnoh region reluctantly decided to ally itself with the Hoenn region.

But this proved to be beneficial as the Sinnoh region was able to rebuild its shattered economy by focusing on war production, together the two regions were nearly unbeatable.

In a joint military effort the two regions managed to overtake the Unova region within four months, while also eliminating the expeditionary force of 250,000 men from the Johto region who had been posted there.

Now the Johto region stood alone against two superpowers who threatened its existence. The President of the region, Douglas Grayson, turned to the Kanto region for assistance, but the neutral region was still unwilling to partake in the war.

The Hoenn region struck first by attempting an amphibious assault on the Johto region. What saved the region from destruction was its geography; most of the region is surrounded by natural rock walls unsuitable for landing craft the only strip of beach that is suitable for an amphibious assault is located in Olivine City, which in order to reach one must pass through a narrow, shallow, and chaotic straight.

Overconfident in itself and knowing the Johto army was weakened from its defeat in the Unova region the Hoenn region attempted the assault anyway.

As Hoenn ships began passing through the narrow straight, the ruminants of the Johto Air force were able to trap all of the ships in the narrow straight by sinking the first and last ships. From there the planes managed to pick off the remaining ships at their leisure.

Though this was a major victory, it wasn't enough to turn the war in their favor. The Hoenn region retaliated by bombing the Johto regions airbases and further weakened their fighting capabilities.

The Sinnoh region then made a bold move. The Kanto region had been neutral throughout the conflict, hoping to fix its economy before jumping into a war, but as fate would have it, the Sinnoh region decided to bomb Vermillion City, they attacked with such ferocity and force that the entire city was nearly flattened.

The Kanto region was outraged by this, and its people demanded blood. December 7th 2014 the Kanto region declared war on the Sinnoh region and in turn, the Hoenn region declared war on the Kanto region.

Now, the Kanto region scrambled to produce war materials and men, while also facing a major decision, either fight the Sinnoh region first or the Hoenn region. The Sinnoh region had attacked first, but the Hoenn region posed a more serious threat.

The decision was made, to attack the Hoenn region. With the Hoenn regions navy severely weakened, they were unable to effectively defend their outlying territories.

The furthest territory was the Unova region. The Kanto region swiftly conducted an amphibious and air assault on the region in an attempt to liberate it. They sustained heavy casualties in the beginning due to under trained and under equipped troops.

But within six months they managed to liberate the entire region. Now having reclaimed the Unova region the Kanto region began to hastily rebuild the Unova army. They recruited groups of resistance fighters and reinstated former army officers.

Back in the Hoenn region it seemed the plans for another Johto invasion would never go through. The Johto Air Force had been allowed to rebuild itself after the Hoenn region switched from bombing military instillations to bombing cities in retaliation for the bombing of Lilycove City.

The Prime Minister of the Hoenn region was outraged that his people had been attacked, and now wanted to break the spirit of the Johto people by bombing their cities, but this only fueled the Johto people's desire for victory.

After rebuilding what it could of the Unova military, the Kanto region was faced with another problem. The Sinnoh region had massed its navy and was attempting an invasion of Kanto. The Sinnoh fleet outnumbered the Kanto fleet, but still, the Kanto fleet took a gamble and met the Sinnoh fleet midway between the two regions.

It was there that the Kanto army managed to turn back the Sinnoh fleet and sink most of their ships. After that battle the Kanto army and the Johto Army were on the offensive. A joint Unova and Kanto force liberated the Kalos region within a year.

After that a combined Johto and Unova force began an invasion of the Sinnoh region, progress was slow at first until the Kanto region joined their ranks and then within a month the entire region fell.

Now the Kanto and Johto forces turned their attention back to the Hoenn region. The allies offered a truce, but the Hoenn region refused. Launching another joint attack the Johto and Kanto forces landed at Lilycove city.

Since they were fighting on the Hoenn peoples home land they faced the fiercest resistance yet, it took a whole month before they secured the entire city and an entire year before the pushed the Hoenn army across the river that splits the region in half.

It was there the lines stabilized and for the next month the allies would plan their final assault. It is also around the time a young Marine arrives in Lilycove City.

* * *

**Hey there, this is an idea I've had in my head for awhile and I thought now would be a good time for my to try and write it out. For those of you who might be wondering why I haven't updated Redemption for awhile, it's because I've decided to take a break. I've been working on that story since December and I think it's best if I switch to another project. I haven't abandoned the story, I'm just taking a short break. Anyway's one last thing I wanted to let you guys know is that I will try to refrain from writing notes (Like the one I'm writing now, yeah I know I'm a hypocrite.) at the end of my chapters, as I feel it takes way from the story. Thank You. **

_**-AshandMay17**_


	2. Setting Sail

Chapter 1- Setting Sail  
-

Standing on a ship a thousand miles away from his home, a young man looks out into the calm open sea. His raven black hair has been cut off leaving him nearly bald. On the collar of his freshly pressed uniform are gold bars signifying his status as a Second Lieutenant, and more importantly, the famous Eagle, Globe, and Anchor is embedded onto his tan garrison hat signifying his status as a Marine.

Resting on his shoulder and watching the sea with him is his long time friend, Pikachu. The little yellow mouse Pokémon scratches itself behind the ear.

In his mind the young Marine thinks back to the party that was thrown for him upon his graduation from the Officer Training program in Pewter City.

All his friends had been there congratulating him on his success, and teasing him by referring to him as "The General." A grin came across his face as he thought back to that day, but perhaps the best part was being able to finally lose his virginity to his long time girlfriend Misty.

They had gone out to the garden when no one was watching and made passionate love under a cherry tree. They stayed the night out there, embraced in each other's arms until the sun came up and they had to return home.

Then a few weeks later his orders came in, he was going to the war. His mother, girlfriend, and father like figure Professor Oak came to say goodbye. His mother broke down in tears and had to be consoled by Oak.

Misty had given him one last parting kiss and promised to wait for him. Then boarding the boat, he watched as his family became smaller and smaller until finally, they disappeared.

"Hey Ash," The young Marine turned at the sound of his name being called. Approaching him was another young Second Lieutenant named Drew. He was about the same height as Ash, and equally built; in his hands he was carrying two root beers "Thought you might want one." Drew said offering Ash one of the sodas.

"Yeah thanks." Ash replied taking the drink.

Ash had meet Drew while in Officer Training School, they were in the same class together and the two quickly became close friends.

On the rare occasions that they got time off from training, they would go into the city and mess around at the local bars, sometimes getting into fights with the cliché biker gangs and then having to dash before the cops showed up to stop the fight, other times they'd just get wasted.

"Only one more day before we arrive in Lilycove City," Ash said "Then from there they'll send us god knows were." Drew shrugged his shoulders "God help the poor bastards who have to face us, I bet the minute they see us running up those beaches there going to piss their pants with fear."

Another grin came across Ash's face, this time it was more forced "Yeah wishful thinking." He said. Though he would never admit it, Ash was terrified to go into combat, it had been the primary motivator for him to become an officer, so he could receive a few years extra training and perhaps miss the war.

If he had been born a year or so later then his plan might have worked, but now not only was he trying to keep himself alive, but also the men whom he commanded. "It'll be alright." Drew said reaching into his pocket.

He pulled out necklace with a cooper bullet strung through a chain.

"See this," Drew said holding up the bronze colored bullet "You know what this is, right?" Ash nodded recognizing the significance of the object.

When Ash joined the Marine's he received a full indoctrination of its history and superstitions. The object that Drew possessed has a significant meaning among, not just Marine Scout Snipers, but snipers in general.

In military lore it is believed that there is one round to ultimately end a soldiers life, the round with his name on it, until that round is fired the person whom it's intended for is believed to be invincible.

But if the person carries this round with him at all times it will never be fired and the soldier is therefore untouchable.

In order to obtain this round a soldier must kill an enemy sniper, and then take the snipers bullet, the one with the soldiers name on it. Marine Scout Snipers refer to this round as a HOGs tooth, and the person who carries it is referred to as a HOG, meaning Hunter of Gunmen.

"You better not let any of our Scout Snipers catch you wearing that. " Ash said.

"I know," Drew replied "But this belonged to my father, he gave it to me before I shipped out, said as long as I have it I'll be safe."

As looked down at the bullet "I forget does that give off enough protection for me also?" Ash asked, Drew shook his head "Sorry, it only has enough juice for one person." "Well then I'm fucked." Ash replied.

"Naw," Drew said "All you have to do is find a sniper, kill him, and then take his bullet." "Oh it's that easy?" Ash replied sarcastically. A grin came across Drew's face.

Ash checked the time on his watch, it read 1855, at 1900 there was going to be a briefing for all the officers on board the ship. "We should leave now if we're going to make it to the briefing in time."Ash said.

"I don't see the point, there just going to tell us the same thing that they've already told us a million times." Drew said placing the necklace back in his pocket.

* * *

In the briefing room there were about twenty one other second Lieutenants, along with Ash and Drew. They sat before a Major who was rambling on about what the officers responsibilities were once they landed at Lilycove.

"We'll be arriving at 1300 tomorrow, remember to brief your men about some of the hazards within the city, while for the most part it's secure, there is the occasional enemy sniper lurking about waiting for a chance to take a shot at some unsuspecting Marine."

"Also remember that there is still a civilian presence within the city, under the rules of war they are not to be harmed in any way, and besides, we're Marines we don't play that shit." The Major was shifting his gaze from officer to officer.

"Any questions?" When the Major failed to receive a reply he nodded "Alright then, you're dismissed."

* * *

Drew and Ash were walking down the ships hallway, heading down to their bunks when another second lieutenant stepped out from his quarters. The lieutenant was about six feet in height, he had a good build to him and had features similar to Ash.

The Lieutenant glared at Ash as he passed him, they had known each other during officer training school and had quickly grown to dislike one another. His name was Red, and he had been the best student in the class, displaying remarkable leadership skills and tactful decision making.

No doubt a trait he learned from his father who was a general in the Corp. But for all of Red's talents, he had two major flaws, envy and jealousy. While Ash was at officer training school he had received top marks that were high enough to rival Red's.

In the beginning Red had paid little mind to this, until Ash's unit bested him in a training exercise. The praise Ash received for his accomplishment wounded Red's hard earned pride, and as a result Red beat Ash within an inch of his life.

Lucky for Ash a superior officer was present to break them up. They were both taken and stood before the Major in charge of the school. Both of them faced expulsion, but with a war brewing and a desperate need for officers, the Major let the incident slide.

"What a prick," Drew said when Red was out of ear shot "He thinks he's hot shit cause his dads a fucking general." Ash shrugged his shoulders as he entered his quarters. It wasn't worth Ash's time to think about Red. Just as long as they steered clear of each other things shouldn't be a problem.

Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder and scampered up to the top bunk; Ash followed close behind and began adjusting his sheets. Next to him was a pad and pen, Ash thought about writing a letter to Misty, telling her everything was alright and that he was about to arrive in Lilycove City.

"_I'll just write it tomorrow." _Ash thought, rubbing his tired eyes.

"Hey Ash," Drew said from the bottom bunk "What?" Ash replied "Do you think Lilycove looks as bad as it does on TV?" "I would think so. They did bomb the hell out of it after all."

"I remember visiting Lilycove with my dad when he'd go on his business trips, it was really beautiful, I hope I can still recognize it when we arrive."

Ash thought back to the Officer Candidate program, it was their Drew had revealed to him that he was from the Hoenn region. He hadn't told anybody else, for fear of being discriminated against. To Ash though, it didn't really matter were Drew originated from, because now he was here, fighting for Kanto.

Although, Ash couldn't help but wonder if being born in the Hoenn region would make Drew more sympathetic to the people of the region. "Good night Ash." Drew said turning off the light. "Night." Ash replied closing his eyes.

* * *

"Second Platoon, form up!" Ash shouted from the dock. His twenty man platoon quickly formed up in front of him. Up front was the Platoon Sergeant Brock Harrison, originally from Pewter City. When he turned eighteen he immediately enlisted in the Marines and quickly made his way up to Gunnery Sergeant. He was a tough bastard.

It was a scorching hot day, it was the sort of heat where a person wanted to remain absolutely still, because even the slightest movement would send a wave of sweat across the body. "Gunnery Sergeant Harrison, get these men to their barracks." "Yes Sir." Brock replied turning to the men "Alright second platoon, let's move."

The barracks for the enlisted men were situated in a converted apartment building, most of the rooms housed four marines and their Pokémon. Generally the larger Pokémon were kept inside their pokeballs to save space. The apartments had electricity, but no heating, which wasn't a problem given the intense heat outside.

The officers on the other hand were situated in nice condos that were equipped with a few more commodities such as personal showers, and, depending on the persons rank, they would either have their own room or have to share with one other officer.

Brock led the men of second platoon over to their barracks, while Ash followed a young Colonel over to the officer's barracks. Since Ash was only a second Lieutenant he was required to share a room with Drew. They were placed on the sixteenth floor of the building and overlooked the entire city.

As Ash laid his gear out onto the bed he turned and saw Drew staring out the window overlooking the city. "Hey, they told us not to do that remember. A sniper would love a chance to take out a dumb second lieutenant standing by the window."

Drew didn't reply he just stood there looking in awe of the city. "It's worse than when they showed us it on TV." Drew said "Most of the buildings are gone, even the fucking department store." After tossing his K-Bar knife onto the bed Ash joined Drew looking out the window.

The city had endured three days of constant bombardment from the air, leaving the city in ruins. Most of the buildings were now empty concrete shells, rubble littered the streets and even now Ash could smell the foul stench of sulfur.

"Come on, we've got to brief our platoons." Ash said pulling Drew away from the window.

* * *

"Attention on deck." Brock shouted as Ash entered the room. The men of second platoon ceased all activity and shot up into the position of attention. "At ease gentlemen," Ash said walking in front of them. The men relaxed their posture.

"I'm here to brief you on a couple of important items," Ash said "Right now you are in Lilycove City, I do not know when they'll ship us out to face the enemy, but I do know that while you're here, in this city you must remain vigilant."

"For the most part the city is secure, but there is the occasional sniper who likes to take pot shots at Marines and there Pokémon. Wherever you go you must take a buddy, I don't care if you're going to use the head in the middle of the night, you will have a buddy, is that understood."

"Yes sir," The Platoon shouted in unison.

"Also while we are stationed here I will not tolerate any of you harassing the local women, so keep it in your pants for the next few months, is that clear?"

"Yes sir!" His platoon responded in unison.

"Alright, are there any questions?" A young private named Colby raised his hand "Are we allowed to visit the local shops and stores?"

Ash eyed the young Private then turned to the rest of his men "Gentlemen we are in a hostile region among a hostile people. Yes you may visit the local population's shops and purchase their goods, but I would not expect a warm reception from them, and also make sure that were ever you visit you do so with caution."

Ash looked around at as his men "Any other questions?" No one replied "Alright then, chow is at 1630, I'll see you then." Ash exited the enlisted men's barracks and returned to the officer barracks.

When Ash entered his quarters he found Drew sprawled out onto his bed reading an old fish and wildlife magazine.

"You brief your men?" Ash asked taking a seat across from Drew "Yep, they now know as much as we do, which isn't a lot." Pikachu suddenly hopped onto Ash's lap.

Ash gently stroked the Pokémon's yellow fur while looking out the window. He watched as a fleet of medical helicopters graced the skyline of the broken city.


	3. Danger in the City

Chapter 2- In the City

"Push em out!" Ash screamed. "ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR…" His men counted off as they started a set of pushups.

Throughout the entire morning Ash had been running his men through PT drills that consisted of running, pushups, and sit-ups.

The morning heat began to take its toll, as each man became drenched in sweat "TWENTY NINE, THIRTY!" His men shouted finishing a round of pushups.

Ash was doing the exercises with his men sweating alongside them. He glanced up at his men, they were exhausted. Their arms trembled as they struggled to remain in the push up position.

"FEET!" Ash shouted as he jumped up "Feet." His men replied, this time less enthused. Ash looked at his men and felt satisfied when he saw that they were completely spent.

"Alright, return to your barracks and collect your weapons, then meet me down at the range at 1130." Ash said. His men quickly darted back to their barracks to retrieve their weapons.

* * *

Ash and Pikachu quickly returned to the barracks so Ash could retrieve his own weapon. An M16A4 rifle, standard issue among Kanto Marines, Ash liked it because it gave the user excellent accuracy and range while also being relatively light.

Ash put his weapon on safe and then turned to Pikachu "Alright, let's go." He said "PIKA!" His Pokémon replied.

* * *

Ash arrived at the range first and managed to catch Drew just as he was exiting with his platoon. "It's all yours." Drew said as he walked by Ash "Thanks," Ash replied entering the range.

To his immediate left was the firing line. Nothing more than a concrete pad that extended down about eighty feet and could hold about twenty shooters at once.

To Ash's right was a large fenced off court nicknamed "The Grinder." There, Marines would battle with their Pokémon. The fence that surrounded the court was riddled with scars from previous battles. "Lieutenant Ketchum." Ash turned at the sound of Brocks voice.

Brock stood before Ash; behind him were the men of second platoon dressed in their camouflaged battle dress uniforms, or BDU's. Covering their BDU's were their dark green chest rigs that contained their magazines. Their rifles were slung across their body with a full magazine already loaded.

"Gunny, get twelve of these men on the firing line and eight in the grinder." Brock nodded and turned to the men of second platoon "Tally, Baker, Head, Smith, Oswalt, Gonzo, Mckale, and O'Donnell. You're in the grinder."

"Yes Sir," The right men replied. "Alright the rest of you are on the firing line."

The twelve men assigned to the firing line were to be supervised by Brock and the men in The Grinder were to be supervised by Ash.

The smell of burning gunpowder quickly filled the air as the twelve men on the range began letting loose with their rifles and the combined sound of their rifles firing was nearly deafening.

Back in the grinder Private First Class Jeremy Gonzo was the first to battle. Jeremy was one of the platoon's corpsman. Born in Saffron City, he was raised in household with strict parents who expected much from their son.

As a student Jeremy preformed exceptionally well, and achieved top marks in all of his classes, he had done so well that he had been granted a full ride to a Saffron University, one of the region's most prestigious schools. He attended the university for a couple of years, studying to become a doctor.

Then the war broke out, Jeremy had been hesitant to enlist, but figured he should do his part and opted to become a corpsman in order to put his medical knowledge to good use.

Jeremy had a strong build to him and striking blue eyes. Jeremy tossed his Pokeball into the air releasing his Pokémon. A Wartortle that had been issued to him.

Across from him was a young Corporal named Austin Mckale. Mckale had been a star track student at the same university that Jeremy had attended, though they had never met before enlisting in the Marines. Mckale was sometimes hot headed and quick to anger, but always knew what needed to get done. He was an excellent soldier and leader. His Pokémon was an Ivysaur.

Ash observed as the two Marines drilled their Pokémon through a serious of attacks directed towards their opponent. Ash's eyes drifted from the two marines to the other six who were patiently waiting.

Seated next to Ash was Private Colby Tally, fresh out of boot camp he was one of the last additions to second platoon. He was short and had a boyish look to him. Being from a small farm town he had a different way of talking and acting than the other Marines.

The one thing Ash knew for sure about him was that he was mentally strong for he had to be because of the type of Pokémon he trained. A Kadabra a strong physic Pokémon that, without a strong minded trainer, could become unpredictable in combat.

Seated beside Colby was another private, Danny Baker. Danny kept to himself most of the time rarely did he speak to the other Marines. Ash didn't know much about him other than that he had been in Vermillion City when the Sinnoh region had bombed it.

His eyes already had that lifeless look, similar to that of a veteran who has been through extensive combat. His Pokémon was a Haunter.

Seated next to him was a large heavily muscled Marine named Mark Winters. Born and raised in Cerulean City, Mark was the strongest of all the men in second platoon. So it was only fitting that he also happened to be the heavy weapons expert, and lugged around a large M249 machine gun with him. His Pokémon counterpart also suited him nicely, a large Steelix.

Then there was Jake Alberaz. A young Private First Class, Jake was the second corpsman in second platoon along with Jeremy. Though Jake didn't have a medical background like Jeremy, he was still a very skilled corpsman as well as a very intellectual person. Jake could be found hanging out with Jeremy in the mess hall playing chess, or in his bunk reading books on philosophy. When Jake joined the Marines the Pokémon he had been assigned was a Magmar.

Next to Jake was Michael O'Donnell. He was one of the platoons EOD technician otherwise known as Explosive Ordinance Disposal. He was always upbeat and the jokester of the platoon. He was best known for pulling pranks on his fellow Marines. One prank in particular was when he managed to trick Austin into believing that he had stepped on a land mine while out on a maneuver.

After a tense ten minutes of Michael examining the mine he told Austin his best option would be to jump. The whole platoon watched as Austin jumped off the mine shrieking in terror, followed by a burst of confetti from the ground. Michael and the rest of the platoon laughed their asses off, but at Austin's expense.

And finally there was Sergeant West Smith, also the platoons designated marksmen, he kept to himself mostly, but did have a strong friendship with Danny.

Ash turned his head at the exact moment Jeremy ordered his Wartortle to deliver one last hydro pump at Austin's Ivysaur, effectively finishing it off.

"Return your Pokémon." Ash said. The two marines obeyed returning their Pokémon. Ash glanced over at the six men seated on the bench "Alright, next two."

* * *

After range practice Ash had the men of second platoon eat lunch then attend to their afternoon duties around the base. After that their time was their own. Now that he had down time, Ash took the opportunity to walk around the city with Drew.

"How's your platoon doing?" Drew asked as they stepped over a collapsed street light "Good, I think they're eager to see some action." "Yeah same here," Drew said "But I've noticed that the colonel's seem to be getting a little antsy."

"How so?" Ash asked "Well for one they keep pestering me about keeping my men ready and alert, like I'm not doing that already. Secondly they've been constantly in and out of the mission planning room and not to mention they brought over an endless sea of tanks that they placed in the stadium."

"I guess there making it obvious that something big is about to go down." Ash replied. Drew nodded "And we'll be here when it does."

"You know of any place that serves beer? I'm getting sick of drinking the shitty coke's that they have down at the base." Ash said

"Yeah, there's a tavern about a block down the road, although I doubt it's still there." "Well it won't hurt to check." Ash replied.

Ash and Drew made their way down the road when they came across two Privates talking to one another at an intersection. One of them was smoking a cigarette, but when he noticed Drew and Ash he immediately flicked it away, stood at the position of attention, and saluted.

The second Private mimicked the first one and saluted. Ash and Drew approached the two Marines. They stood in the middle of the intersection waiting for Ash or Drew to say, at ease. Just as Ash was about to say at ease, there was a dreadful sound of something passing his ear.

As it passed his ear it sounded like a pissed off hornet trying to sting him. But then what followed was a more familiar sound, one that he had been hearing all day.

"Sniper, get to cover!" Drew screamed. Ash bolted for cover behind an old concrete building. Ash slammed his back up against the wall, and held his rifle tight. Drew was standing next to him panting hard.

As heard another shot ring out and turned to see the one of the young Marines grip his chest before collapsing to the floor.

Before Ash could order the other Marine to stay down, the second Marine made a break for his friend before taking a round to the side of the head. "Fuck!" Ash screamed.

"Did you see him?" Drew asked. Ash shook his head "No, I didn't get a chance."

Ash slowly peaked out from behind the corner. There was a large building in front of him about five stories high, as Ash scanned the building he saw a glint of light coming from the second story on the far left and then heard another gun shot, then felt the impact of the bullet landing right into the corner of the building sending small chunks of concrete into his eyes.

Ash retreated back to cover and rubbed his eyes. "He's on the second floor, the far left window." Ash said as he regained his vision.

"Hey, hey look." Drew said pointing to the Marine. The Marine who had been shot in the chest attempted to crawl for cover.

The sniper let off another shot, but missed the wounded Marine.

Ash and Drew were both armed with their rifles and had their Pokémon with them; Drew had his Absol in its Pokeball.

"You got any smoke grenades?" Ash asked. Drew shook his head. Ash tried to think of something to do, but his mind had frozen.

"Here," Drew said "I'll run across the intersection and try to distract him. Then, when you see him pop up, I want you to pop him, got it?" "Drew are you fucking stupid, you'll get killed." Ash said.

"Well he's fucking dying out there," Drew said pointing to the Marine "And help isn't coming anytime soon, so unless you have a better idea, we use my plan."

Ash turned to the wounded Marine. With one arm the young Marine tried to claw his way to cover. Ash turned back to Drew and nodded reluctantly. "Alright," Drew said "Wait a second or two before popping out."

Ash loaded a round in the chamber of his rifle and said a quick prayer.

"Alright, one, two, three!" Drew bolted out from the cover of the building and into the intersection. Ash counted in his head _"One, Two!"_ Then popped out from around the corner.

Ash saw the flash from the snipers muzzle, followed by a loud bang, and took aim at it. He fired a quick three round burst that seemed to silence the sniper.

Ash didn't want to look over at Drew fearing he might have been hit. "Did you get him?" Ash heard Drew shout _"Thank God." _Ash thought to himself, relieved to hear Drew's voice.

"Yeah, I think I got him," Ash said keeping his rifle focused on the window "You think!?" Drew exclaimed. "I'll keep watch on the window just in case I missed," Ash replied "You focus on getting him." Ash said referring to the wounded Marine.

Ash heard Drew run out into the open again. He stopped abruptly then began moving towards Ash again, slower. As Drew neared Ash, Ash heard the sound of heavy breathing along with a faint gurgling sound.

Ash waited until he sensed Drew was safely behind him before taking cover once more. "You're going to be all right." Ash heard Drew say. Ash looked down at the Marine. There was a gaping hole in his chest that was about the size of a golf ball, blood rushed out of the wound and colored his entire torso dark red. Drew struggled to keep pressure on the wound with a small bandanna.

"Should we move him?" Ash asked. Drew shook his head. The wounded Marine grabbed Drew by the arm "Water…please…water." The wounded Marine croaked the words out, and each time cringed in pain, a bit of blood squirted out from his chest.

Ash unclipped his canteen from his belt and unscrewed the lid "Here," Ash said as he handed Drew the canteen. "Lift his head up for me." Drew said.

Ash knelt down and raised the Marines head up. Drew pressed the canteen on the Marines lips and slowly lifted it up.

The Marine managed to swallow some of it, but in the end coughed up the majority of it.

Ash gently set his head back down and for moment it seemed as though he'd be ok, his breathing returned to normal and he loosened his grip on Drew's arm.

Then suddenly he began to choke, his breathing came in rapid snorts, and his body began to shake. He gripped onto Drew's arms even tighter digging his nails into his skin "Help…" The wounded Marine said, as he sputtered out more blood from his mouth. Drew looked around frantically before spotting a Humvee approaching.

Ash saw it too and ran for it. He waved the driver down "Sir what's going on?" A young sergeant asked. "I need you to radio base and report a possible sniper on the first building to your right and that we have a critically injured Marine who needs immediate transport."

The sergeant nodded and immediately radioed to base the situation "Roger, we'll send a medevac unit." The duty officer replied. "Supports on the way Lieutenant, we'll wait here until it arrives." Ash nodded and rushed back over to Drew.

When Ash returned, he found Drew with his head buried in his bloodied hands, and the young Marine with his eyes glazed over.

* * *

A team of Marines was sent to clear out the building. They searched every room on every floor, but found no trace of the sniper. They sent out a medevac helicopter that picked up the two dead Marines along with Ash and Drew.

Drew didn't say a word on the way back; he just kept focusing on the poncho with the dead marine in it. Ash was visibly shaken, unable to keep either his hands or feet from trembling. When they arrived back at base there were men already waiting to retrieve the bodies.

Ash stood beside Drew as he watched the bodies being wheeled away. They stood there for a moment before Drew spoke up "Blackburn." "Huh?" Ash replied "That was his name, Private First Class Tyler S. Blackburn. I saw it on his dog tags before they put him in the poncho."

"Any idea what platoon he belonged to?" Ash asked Drew shook his head.

Drew turned to Ash with watery eyes "Let's go eat." He said as he walked past Ash.


	4. Petalburg City

Petalburg City-

Her long brunette hair fell down to her shoulders, and in the bright sun's rays her beautiful sapphire eyes glistened. She kept her head up as she walked down the debris riddled street; in her arms she carried a week's worth of rations.

The buildings that lined the street had become charred from the nightly bombings and gave off a foul odor that smelt of melting rubber, and stung at her nostrils

She tried to cover her nose with her bandanna, but the scent managed to creep its way through the thin fabric and back into her nose, she had to fight the urge to gag and decided to quicken her pace.

The streets were littered with people who tried to go about their normal routine like they did before the war. Many of them fooled themselves into thinking things were alright and that there was no need to worry.

Because nightly blackouts were just another part of a person's daily routine, rationing food was what any normal family did, and passing a machine gun or anti aircraft gun on your way to work is in no way a cause for concern.

Ahead of her was a small concrete guard post surrounded by mounds upon mounds of brown sandbags. The guard on duty nodded at her as she passed.

As she continued to walk, a column of grey monstrous tanks roared by her, from their mufflers they expelled clouds of black smoke that only worsened the cities aroma. The clouds dissipated across the street and landed in people's eyes creating a burning sensation. The young girl rubbed at her eyes trying to sooth the pain.

The young girl turned the corner and walked up the path that led to her home. She entered through the wooden gate and hurriedly rushed up the front steps. She entered her living room and then went straight to the kitchen to lay out the contents in the bag.

A carton of eggs, four slabs of beef, three blocks of cheese, and three cans of tuna. That was to last her family a week. Though it was a meager amount of rations she considered herself lucky, because of her father's job her family was able to eat better than others.

Her father was a well known gym leader in the city, and when the war broke out he had been approached by the government to become the propaganda minister for the city.

Though he wasn't the only gym leader approached, many others in different cities were offered this opportunity and most of them accepted. Her father, being the patriot that he was, eagerly agreed to accept the job. This granted him control over all broadcasting from T.V to radio.

Anything he deemed harmful to the people or anything that undermined the government was immediately discarded and the creator punished.

Another perk of being such an influential official was that his son was exempt from the draft, while thousands of men went to the war; his son was allowed to stay home and relax.

"May," the girl turned and saw her mother standing in the doorway "Could you go and check and see if they've dropped off our weekly sack of flour?" May nodded "Yes mother." She said.

Outside the skies were filled with the loud humming sounds of military cargo planes flying overhead, ugly, grey, bulky machines that delivered weapons, ammo, and men to the frontline. They were essential for victory over the evil that was at their doorstep.

At least that's what she'd been told. In school, and at home, she was always taught that her region was the best because they fought for honor and glory. The war was a noble endeavor, after all why shouldn't they claim lands from people who were too weak and stupid to govern it properly.

Many nights at the dinner table she'd hear this repeated by her father who'd use it to justify himself and his job against the accusations that were never made against either.

But May was sick of the war, she hated the nightly blackouts, the food rationing, the mandatory curfew that if broken could result in death.

The war was responsible for ruining her life before it began she had attended a college at Lilycove City, but was pulled out a month before the bombings began. All her years of hard work had been in vain, but her father had promised that once the Hoenn region claimed victory she could return to college and finish her degree.

Though the way things were looking, it didn't seem like that was ever going to happen.

Of course she wanted her country to win, but she had grown tired of having her family and others sacrifice so much for so little in return.

May peaked around the gate to see if the flour had arrived, it hadn't. May sighed then returned to her home. As she entered the kitchen her mother was already fast at work preparing dinner.

"Has the flour arrived yet?" she asked "No not yet." Her mother glanced back at her "Your father's working late again," She said "Just so you know."

"_What else is new."_ May thought. Her father had become so consumed with his work that she hardly ever got the chance to see him, and on the rare occasions that she did see him, all he would want to talk about was how great their region was.

"Go wash up, dinners almost ready." Her mother said.

May began to head over to the bathroom when a she felt a tremor gently shake the ground.

She paused for moment then felt another tremor, this one a little more noticeable. Then a thunderous clap that shook the entire house went off, followed by a high pitched whine. May ran back to the kitchen "Mom come on!" she shouted.

Her mother dropped what she was doing and rushed over to her daughter. May took her mother by the hand and led her to a small closet underneath the stair case. She yanked the door open revealing a small hatch in the center of the room.

May pried open the hatch that led to a small bomb shelter buried beneath the house. Another bomb went off, this time it rattled the entire house and knocked over pictures framed to the walls.

May assisted her mother down the hatch "You're brother, May get your brother!"

May quickly ran out of the room and up the stairs "Max!" she shouted. _"God damn it Max." _She thought when she failed to receive a response.

The loud dominating roars from the bombers filled the air as they neared May's home. May kicked open the door to Max's room and found her brother trapped under a giant wooden dresser.

He squirmed under the weight and tried the wedge his way out "It's a good thing you didn't join the military." May said as she rushed over to her brother. "Fuck you." Max replied

May lifted the dresser just high enough for Max to crawl out from underneath. As he dusted himself off May grabbed him from behind the neck and forcefully brought him out of the room and back down to the bomb shelter.

As they walked down the steps a bomb was dropped at their front door, it shook the house with such ferocity that both teens tumbled down the stairs. May created a large dent in the wall as her head slammed against it.

She frantically felt her forehead checking for blood, when she saw that it was clean she again grabbed her brother and brought him down to the shelter.

May slammed the hatch shut and joined her brother and mother near the back of the shelter.

Outside the anti aircraft guns rattled off as they tried to repel the attack.

This wasn't the first time Petalburg City had been bombed, but it was the first time the bombs hit within such a close proximity to her home.

Her mother gripped her tightly as the bombs hammered into the city. The next explosion sounded as if it hit in the middle of their living room, it certainly made May's ears ring and made the shelter look as if it were about to cave in on its self.

"_Why can't this war just be over already?" _May thought_. _She closed her eyes, and tried to quite her mind. Sometimes she'd find herself wishing that she had an escape, something to go to so that she could forget about the war, something to ease her mind.

"It's ok darling, we'll be ok." Her mother said. As she spoke the flickering light above their heads was extinguished and left them in darkness.


	5. Preparations

Chapter 4- Preparations

Ash stared up at the ceiling as he lay awake in his bunk. The memory of the young Marine dying replayed over and over in his head. The fearful look that was in his eyes as he neared the end made a chill travel up Ash's spine.

Ash rolled over on his side and thought about what the young Marine might have been thinking during his final moments. Was it the family he left behind, the girl he loved, or what might be waiting for him once he crossed over to the other side?

Ash had never been much of a religious person, his mother had always tried to get him to go to church with her but he had always come up with an excuse not to go.

Though he held no animosity towards God or church, he felt that it would be wrong to attend mass when he himself held no firm religious belief.

He remembered saying a quick prayer in his mind before Drew ran out to distract the sniper, thinking that by doing so would have possibly improved the situation.

Though by doing so he felt like a hypocrite, turning to God only when he needed something. _"Maybe that's what he was thinking about."_ Ash thought. Maybe in the Marines final moments he turned to his lord.

Whatever the case, the vision of the dying Marine was seared into his mind. Every time he closed his eyes he saw the young Marine gasping for a puff of air, beckoning for help, and neither he nor Drew able to do anything.

"_That'll be me, probably." _Ash thought, _"In some godforsaken town I'll probably be hit, and no one will be able to do anything about it." _

"Hey Ash," Drew whispered from his bunk "What?" Ash replied "It's my fault you know," he said, his voice sounded shaky. "It's my fault he died."

"No, it wasn't your fault; there was nothing you could have done." Ash said trying to reassure him. "Before he died he tried telling me something, but every time he opened his mouth all that would come out were gurgling sounds and blood."

Ash knew lingering on this wasn't going to be beneficial to either of them, they both needed to put this away if they were to continue being effective leaders. "Forget about Drew, you can't blame yourself there was nothing you could have done." Ash said.

Drew turned over on his side.

"I wish I could have known what he wanted to say, maybe he wanted me to tell one of his loved ones something like he loved them or he'd miss them. I would've told them, I would've done that right."

Ash wanted to comfort Drew, he wanted to say something to help alleviate the guilt he felt for allowing the young Marine to die, but nothing came to his mind. Ash couldn't relate to what Drew was feeling, because he felt no guilt about the young Marine dying, only fear that the same fate awaited him.

"_I haven't seen battle and already I'm a coward, while Drew over their wishing he could've done more to help that Marine live, I'm over here fearing that, that could be me laying on the ground with a bullet lodged in my chest." _

Ash's eyelids became very heavy all of the sudden as they slowly came together, Ash fought to keep them open. _"I need to stay awake, just in case Drew has anything more to say." _Ash thought.

But the exhaustion of the day took its toll and Ash's eyelids closed, and before long he had drifted off into a deep slumber.

* * *

Ash awoke early the next morning, and made his way down to the mess hall with Drew. Ash had his little yellow Pikachu perched on his shoulder; the little Pokémon struggled to keep its eyelids open.

The sun's rays had just begun to trickle through the tall buildings that dominated the city skyline. It was a cold morning, the coldest one yet.

All around them the base was frantic with activity. Choppers constantly flew overhead delivering both men and equipment to the base and trucks that were loaded with rifles and ammo roared back and forth on the roads.

Seeing this all of this made Ash anxious, his heart palpitated quickly as he knew the reason for such activity. Though there hadn't been an official announcement, Ash knew they were preparing for an assault, when and where he didn't know.

Ash glanced over at Drew who was focused straight ahead towards the mess hall. "How you doing?" Ash asked in an attempt to keep his mind distracted. "I'm alright, hungry mostly." He said as he opened the door to the mess hall.

The warm hall was a welcome change from the chilly dawn air outside. Ash and Drew made their way through the breakfast line. The meal being served was eggs and bacon, or rather what the Marine Corp defined as eggs and bacon.

Ash poured himself a cup of coffee before taking a seat next to Drew. Ash slowly picked at his food. His eyes wandered around the hall until they landed on a group of five Marines seated towards the back of the mess hall.

They weren't speaking to one another; a few of them picked at their food and took care to chew each bite as slowly as they could. The others who weren't eating smoked on their cigarettes.

Ash noticed that one of them had unknowingly allowed the ember of his cigarette to crawl between his fingers, but instead of flinching in surprise the Marine just stared off into the distance his large brown eyes focused straight ahead, locked onto the adjoining wall.

It took him a few seconds before he felt that his fingers were being singed by the orange ember, he separated his fingers and allowed it to fall into his tray then pulled out another cigarette.

He lit it, took a short puff then let it rest above his tray, never once breaking eye contact with the wall.

All five men had their faces and lips painted black from smoke and dirt, their camouflaged uniforms had become frayed and ripped, exposing parts of their bruised arms and legs. Two of them had large medical patches, which were at one time white but were now a pattern of black and grey, covering parts of their chest.

Ash recognized the division patch on their shoulders and realized that they belonged to the Second Marine Division. _"Shit those guys must have come from Dewford Island."_ Ash thought.

In the past month the Marines had deployed the men of the second division to take Dewford Island, as it would provide a good position to launch air raids all the way to Petalburg City, as well as providing a good launching point for an assault on either Slateport city or the beach next to route 104.

Taking the island was a vicious endeavor for the men of the second, as they encountered heavy resistance from the native islanders and Hoenn military. Casualties were high, but eventually the island fell. Now, Ash assumed, these men had returned to Lilycove for some rest and recovery.

"Hey Drew, maybe we should go talk to those guys." Ash said "Why?" "Don't you want to know what it's like?" Drew shrugged his shoulders "Yeah, but I think they just want to be left alone right now."

Suddenly the mess hall door opened and in came Red. He scanned the room from the door way noticing Ash and Drew first, then the five Marines. His eyes darted back and forth between the two groups as he tried to decide who he should go and speak to first.

Eventually he went with the five Marines. He walked over to them. Just the sight of Red walking made Ash want to take a swing at him, the way he carried himself was very cocky, his head held high, hands clenched in fists as they swung by his side, but perhaps it was the expression on his face that upset Ash the most.

He had monotone look of boredom as if to say everything and everyone was below him. _"Doesn't he know where he's at?" _ Ash thought to himself.

Red walked to the end of the table and stood in front of the five marines. He looked lost among them with his freshly pressed uniform and gleaming gold bars. "You guys just arrived from Dewford, correct?" Red asked.

"Yes." One of the Marines said pestered by the stupid question. Red pretended not to notice and continued on "So what's it like? The fighting I mean."

The Marine staring at the wall finally broke his gaze and turned to Red. He squinted at him as he looked him up and down, then shook his head and turned away. Red frowned at the Marine then looked to the others.

One of them glanced up at Red and locked eyes with him, he didn't say a word, but Red could tell that the Marine wanted him to fuck off.

Red gave up trying to get them to speak and made his way over to Ash and Drew's table. "Fuck, here he comes." Drew said.

"Morning boys." Red said taking a seat across from them "I heard you two had quite an adventure yesterday."

"Two men were shot and killed, I wouldn't call that an adventure." Drew growled "I suppose you're right," Red said "But now my platoon is short two men." Ash looked up at Red "I'm sorry."

"Yeah well, shame the sniper wasn't quicker." Drew clenched his fist "Are you really going to speak like that," Drew said "Two of your men just died and you're going to start talking shit to us?" "My men died because of your fucking stupidity."

Drew slammed his fist on the table "Fuck you!" he shouted. The five Marines in the corner snapped their attention to Drew. "He died in my fucking arms," Drew said through clenched teeth.

Red pretended that he wasn't embarrassed at the moment; he glanced back at the table with the Marines on it and saw that they were staring. He slapped both his hands down onto the table as he got up to leave.

Still with his head held high.

"Fuck him, right?" Ash said as Red left the building "Yeah, Fuck him." Drew said.

The five Marines seated in the corner got up from their seats and began to exit the mess hall, one of them though decided to approach Ash and Drew. "You lose a man, Lieutenant?" The young private asked not even bothering to say sir.

"Yes." Drew replied. The young private took a puff on his cigarette "It happens." He flicked away his cigarette before he turned and staggered out through the front door.

* * *

Ash's platoon entered the mess hall a few minutes after Red left; Ash gave them twenty minutes to chow down on their food before running them through another two hours of PT. After this Ash received word of a briefing that was going to take place at the base head quarters and that all officers were required to attend.

Ash and Pikachu went down to the briefing room were a sea of officers ranging from Colonels to 2nd lieutenants sat. At the front of the room were two large maps detailing the Hoenn region.

Ash went down the rows and found a seat next to Drew who was staring intently at the maps. "What's going on?" Ash asked "Looks like advancing deeper into the region." Drew replied

"Where do you think we'll be sent?" Ash asked. Drew shrugged his shoulders.

"ATTEN-HUT!" a bellowing voice roared. The scraping of chairs against the floor echoed through the building as all the officers rose from their seats to the position to attention.

A short bald headed square faced man walked in front of the officers. He wore a dark green uniform that was decorated with numerous medals and awards, on each shoulder were three silver stars that glinted even in the fluorescent lights.

He scanned over the men with a scowl over his face. "At ease." He said with a scratchy voice. The men returned to their chairs and listened intently to anything the general might say.

The generals scowl turned into a sly smile "I suppose it's no secret that were preparing to move out." He said. "With Dewford Island secure and a fresh supply of Marines, all the pieces are in place." "Our destination will be Slateport City." He turned facing the map "Four battalions from the first Marine division will part of first wave of troops to hit the beach, once they make it up to the sea wall and secure it, the rest of the division will be sent in." "Before making the initial landing the navy plans on conducting a series of airstrikes that will eliminate any beach head resistance."

The general turned back to the men "Also while we conduct our landing operation the Johto army will be conducting a similar operation near route 104, from there they'll advance and capture Petalburg City."

The general paused to survey the crowd one more time "Tomorrow all men will meet down at the parade grounds at 0700, then after that we're shipping out." The general's expression returned to a scowl "Any questions?" there were none.

"Dismissed."


End file.
